A Los Angeles-based nonprofit opened an early childhood center specifically for children whose families are seeking asylum in the United States. This center is one of the only places available where migrant children can play and learn for free.

Tony winners: ‘Hadestown’ racks up 8 awards including best musical — and women make history

Anais Mitchell accepts the award for original score for “Hadestown,” which made Tonys history by becoming the first production written and directed by women to win best musical. David Bryne presented the award.

“The Ferryman” picked up four awards including best play, but it was Anaïs Mitchell’s folk-operatic re-imagining of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth that led the night. Mitchell took home the Tony for score, while Rachel Chavkin, the lone woman in her category, won for direction of a musical.

“It’s about keeping faith when you are made to feel alone, and that is how the power structures try to maintain control — by trying to make you feel like you’re walking in the darkness, even when your partner is right behind you,” she said, holding back tears. Chavkin called for more inclusion among Broadway’s ranks of stage directors and critics, adding: “There are so many women who are ready to go, there are so many artists of color who are ready to go. … It is a failure of imagination by a field whose job it is to imagine how the world could be.”

Rachel Chavkin, winner for director of a musical, in the Tonys press room after her "Hadestown" win.

Ali Stroker made history as the first performer in a wheelchair to win a Tony, taking home honors for featured actress in the re-imagining of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” The production also took the prize for musical revival.

“This award is for every kid who is watching tonight who has a limitation or a challenge, who has been waiting to see themselves represented in this arena,” Stroker said after a standing ovation.

Despite speculation that Tonys producers would build a ramp from the Radio City Music Hall audience area to the stage for Stroker, the actress was positioned offstage when her category was announced. She rolled out to give her acceptance speech, then headed to the media room, where she said she hoped theater owners and producers would make their backstages more accessible for performers with disabilities.

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Ali Stroker performs a song from Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!" during the Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall.

(Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro)

André De Shields was the sentimental favorite in the category of featured actor in a musical.

Broadway veteran and sentimental favorite André De Shields, 73, won his first Tony for his featured performance in “Hadestown.” Channeling his wise and godly character Hermes, the actor shared three pieces of advice in his acceptance speech: “One, surround yourself with people whose eyes light up when they see you coming. Two, slowly is the fastest way to get to where you want to be. And three, the top of one mountain is the bottom of the next, so keep climbing.”

“Network” star Bryan Cranston beat Jeff Daniels and Adam Driver, among others, to win lead actor in a play.

“Finally, a straight old white man gets a break!” joked Cranston in his acceptance speech.

He dedicated his win “to all the real journalists around the world, both in the print media and also broadcast media, who are actually in the line of fire in pursuit of the truth. The media is not the enemy of the people. Demagoguery is the enemy of the people.”

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The cast and producers of “Hadestown” accept the award for best musical at the 2019 Tony Awards.

(Theo Wargo / Getty Images )

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Stephanie J. Block accepts the award for her lead performance in the musical “The Cher Show.”

(Theo Wargo / Getty Images )

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Santino Fontana accepts the award for his lead performance in the musical for “Tootsie.”

(Theo Wargo / Getty Images )

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Cynthia Erivo performs during the “In Memoriam” section at the 73rd Tony Awards.

(Charles Sykes / Invision/AP)

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Brian Stokes Mitchell speaks during the 2019 Tony Awards.

(Theo Wargo / Getty Images )

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Playwright Jez Butterworth and the cast and producers of “The Ferryman” accept the award for best play.

(Theo Wargo / Getty Images)

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Bryan Cranston accepts the Tony for his lead performance in the play “Network.”

(Theo Wargo / Getty Images )

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“What the Constitution Means to Me” writer-performer Heidi Schreck talks about her play at the 73rd Tony Awards.

(Charles Sykes / Invision/AP)

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The cast of “Kiss Me, Kate” performs during the 73rd Tony Awards.

(Charles Sykes / Invision/AP)

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“Kiss Me, Kate” star Kelli OHara introduces an excerpt from the show during the 2019 Tony Awards.

In the best play race, Jez Butterworth’s Ireland-set epic “The Ferryman” beat out Heidi Schreck’s dark-horse “What the Constitution Means to Me,” which ended the night empty-handed.

“The Ferryman” also picked up the award for direction. Sam Mendes, who is filming the next James Bond movie, shared his acceptance remarks via email: “It’s a little bit bonkers trying to make theater on Broadway — to be dealing with something so fragile in such a rough-and-tumble environment,” he said. “But when it works, it’s like nowhere else in the world.”

The star-studded staging of “The Boys in the Band,” which producer Ryan Murphy is adapting for Netflix, won the award for play revival.

“I remember being a very, very young guy — 6 or 7, seeing ‘Boys in the Band’ on television — and it was the only thing that I had, the only group of gay men I had ever seen,” he told reporters backstage. “I’m just excited about the evolution of that idea and bringing it to a new audience.”

Elaine May scored a victory for lead actress for her performance in “The Waverly Garden,” beating a packed field that included Annette Bening, Janet McTeer and Laurie Metcalf. “Ink” actor Bertie Carvel and “To Kill a Mockingbird” actress Celia Keenan-Bolger won for their featured performances in plays.

James Corden, hosting the Tonys for a second time, sprinkled in crowd-pleasing pokes at annoying audience members’ phones ringing during shows, how expensive Broadway tickets have become and how low the industry’s paychecks and the CBS telecast’s ratings tend to be.

Performances are the center of any Tonys telecast, which doubles as a three-hour commercial for current Broadway offerings. Highlights this year included a hit parade by the cast of the jukebox musical “Ain’t Too Proud,” who showcased a bit of the Temptations catalog and Sergio Trujillo’s Tony-winning choreography; a spirited performance of “Believe” by lead actress winner Stephanie J. Block of “The Cher Show,” spotlighting Bob Mackie’s Tony-winning costumes; and a “Tootsie” musical performance by lead actor winner Santino Fontana that featured lines from Robert Horn’s Tony-winning book and Fontana’s skilled quick-change into the sparkling red gown made famous in the 1982 Dustin Hoffman movie.

The cast of “The Prom” drove home the show’s themes of acceptance and inclusion with a same-sex kiss.

“When you love someone, you kiss them — it’s not a big deal,” actress Caitlin Kinnunen told The Times before the performance. “Yes, there’s always backlash from the people who think it’s wrong and unacceptable, but there’s also always 10 times the amount of people who say, ‘Thank you, we feel seen and represented; this should be the norm.’ It’s been amazing the amount of love and support we get.”